Dogs Lower Kids' Asthma Risk If Raised Together, Finds Study

Kids raised with dogs appeared to have lower risk of asthma a few years later than children who were not exposed to the animals, according to a study in Sweden.

The study published Monday by JAMA Pediatrics examined 377,000 preschool-aged children and 276,000 school-aged Swedish children and detailed their exposure to dogs and farm animals along with their rate of asthma, according to Live Science.com.

The study found that school-aged children who were exposed to dogs in the first year of their lives were 13 percent less likely to have asthma by age 6 as compared to same-age children who have not been around dogs.

Researchers found that school-aged children exposed to farm animals in the first year of life were 52 percent less likely to have asthma by six, while preschool children with the same exposure were 31 percent less likely to have asthma from one to five years old.

"In this study, the data support the hypothesis that exposure to dogs and farm animals during the first year of life reduces the risk of asthma in children at age six years," said the study in which researchers analyzed the children data from Jan. 1, 2007, to Sept. 30, 2012.

"This information might be helpful in decision making for families and physicians on the appropriateness and timing of early animal exposure," the study concluded.

The study's co-author, Catarina Almqvist Malmros of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden, told the Press Association that the study does not explain whether and how animals protect children from developing asthma.

"We know that children with established allergy to cats or dogs should avoid them, but our results also indicate that children who grow up with dogs have reduced risks of asthma later in life," said Malmros.

"Thanks to the population-based design, our results are generalizable to the Swedish population and probably also to other European populations with similar culture regarding pet ownership and farming."